


Are Genocide Route Players ‘Evil’?

by ArgentDandelion



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Analysis, Ethics, Gen, Meta, Morality, Nonfiction, Undertale Genocide Route
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-12
Updated: 2018-06-12
Packaged: 2020-08-18 23:13:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20199766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArgentDandelion/pseuds/ArgentDandelion
Summary: Answers the question of whether players of Undertale's Genocide Route are 'evil'.





	Are Genocide Route Players ‘Evil’?

_Spoiler: No, but they should still feel bad._

(Image from [CrasherGale](http://crashergale.tumblr.com/)’s [sprite resource](http://crashergale.tumblr.com/post/156682884561/view-text-project-here-download-text-project). Made with consulting from [BabyCharmander](http://babycharmander.tumblr.com/) and [CinnamonAzzy](https://cinnamonazzy.tumblr.com/).)

YouTube personality Markiplier played through _Undertale_ in November 2015. Markiplier wanted to do the Genocide Route, where one kills every monster it is possible to kill in he game. The idea of a violent playthrough irritated his fans, who wanted him to go through the Pacifist run specifically. His fans harassed him for the choices he wanted to make, and so badly he soon quit after uploading only two episodes. Later, he returned to playing it in October 2016, and explained his reasons for quitting his original playthrough:

> “Everyone was disappointed in the way I was playing it, and ordinarily I would just be like: ‘Y’know, I’m doing it my way. I’m gonna do this,’” Markiplier said. “But unfortunately, it was so pervasive that it made the entire experience not fun for me. It was literally just a moment where I was like: ‘I’m not having fun making these videos because I know that no matter what I do, everyone will think I’m wrong.” [1](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/174832153855/are-genocide-route-players-evil#fn:1)

In the _Undertale_ community, Genocide Route players have been likened to child abusers and murderers. In short, they were called ‘evil’. But are Genocide Route players really evil?

* * *

What is evil? That’s been a question long debated by moral philosophers. There are multiple definitions of the word, but the two most applicable definitions (from Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary) are:

> **a:** morally reprehensible: sinful,wicked [an evil impulse]  
**b:**arising from actual or imputed bad character or conduct [a person of evil reputation]

Evil actions do not require evil (that is, malevolent) intentions: it is possible to do the (morally) wrong thing for the right reasons. So are Genocide Route players/their actions evil?

No.

To be clear, from an in-universe, [Watsonian](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Ftvtropes.org%2Fpmwiki%2Fpmwiki.php%2FMain%2FWatsonianVersusDoylist&t=Mzc5ODM5ZjRlMDEwMDhlODlmNGZmNDU0NWI5NjIwOTZkMGViZTE2NixKTVh1QndQOA%3D%3D&b=t%3AHZZTbr56CX-Pu8cYzedJTw&p=https%3A%2F%2Fargentdandelion.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F174832153855%2Fare-genocide-route-players-evil&m=1) perspective, a human single-handedly, intentionally slaughtering a peaceful society of nonhuman persons (monsters), beyond the argument of self-defense, in the span of a day or two is inexcusably morally wrong and reprehensible. Such a human (were monsters actually to exist) would be locked up for life, at best.

But, from an out-of-universe, [Doylist](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Ftvtropes.org%2Fpmwiki%2Fpmwiki.php%2FMain%2FWatsonianVersusDoylist&t=Mzc5ODM5ZjRlMDEwMDhlODlmNGZmNDU0NWI5NjIwOTZkMGViZTE2NixKTVh1QndQOA%3D%3D&b=t%3AHZZTbr56CX-Pu8cYzedJTw&p=https%3A%2F%2Fargentdandelion.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F174832153855%2Fare-genocide-route-players-evil&m=1) perspective, for the player to emulate a mass-murdering spree of nonhuman persons within the confines of a video game is not morally reprehensible. There are no consequences to this pretend mass-murder, for the characters are not real and cannot feel pain.

Genocide Route players’ in-game actions also do not necessarily reflect their out-of-game personalities or moral character. Obviously, people adjust behavior by context, and the vast majority of people who play violent video games (even those more realistic than _Undertale_) do not actually go on to kill people.

Having established that the actions of Genocide Route players are not truly morally reprehensible, as the suffering it causes is not real, and their actions do not necessarily arise from bad character, why is it so common to call them ‘evil’?

* * *

Beyond a certain age, it is easy to distinguish fantasy from reality. People know _Undertale _characters are nothing more than a collection of pixelated images, synthesized voice grunts and lines of dialogue. However, the characters are so cleverly written and depicted, it is easy to forget that they are not actually real people. Indeed, they invoke empathy so well that their simulated suffering causes some suffering-by-empathy for real people. Due to this, people often feel empathy for the characters a Genocide Route player “kills”, but often not for the real person doing the “killing”.

This empathy for simulated suffering leads to outrage, and with that, invective words and harassment. “You’re a murderer,” people might say to a Genocide Route player who is merely going through a (admittedly heartbreaking) style of playing a video game. Real people judging the Genocide Route player’s morality does nothing but make the Genocide Route more punishing, and more guilt-tripping, beyond the game itself.

Calling a Genocide Route player 'evil’ cuts off all debate, and all empathy, for a real person. Observers distressed over a stylized simulation of mass murder should, rather than calling a Genocide Route player 'evil’, ask themselves “Why is the player choosing this style of play?” or simply distance themselves from cleverly-invoked empathy and leave the livestream.

Genocide Route players are not beings with zero empathy. Their reluctance, discomfort, and emotional turmoil in “killing” things, even knowing they are not real, shows this. In the end, many Genocide Route players choose to resolve their video game guilt by making amends via a Pacifist Route.[2](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/174832153855/are-genocide-route-players-evil#fn:2)

Instead of condemning real people for non-real murder, why not use _Undertale_ as an educational experience on morality and psychology? Its themes of choice and morality make it an excellent topic, and it certainly tugs at the heartstrings enough to be convincing.

* * *

  1. From a [Kotaku Interview](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fkotaku.com%2Fthe-undertale-drama-1798159975&t=NTA1N2RkYmU1OWUzNDBhYWI0MTVlYjExYTNlNjE0NTJlZDQwNzdhYSxKTVh1QndQOA%3D%3D&b=t%3AHZZTbr56CX-Pu8cYzedJTw&p=https%3A%2F%2Fargentdandelion.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F174832153855%2Fare-genocide-route-players-evil&m=1). [↩︎](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/174832153855/are-genocide-route-players-evil#fnref:1)

  2. And/or blaming the Fallen Child (default name Chara) for the Genocide Route: “_Dodging guilt does not mean the player missed the lesson or point of the run._ It means the player genuinely felt awful and is trying to stop feeling awful so they can move on with their life.”-[BabyCharmander](http://babycharmander.tumblr.com/post/141721666280/pontata-this-how-everyone-seems-to-react-to) [↩︎](https://argentdandelion.tumblr.com/post/174832153855/are-genocide-route-players-evil#fnref:2)


End file.
